Marie Osmond and Mary Murphy: Separated at Birth?

One is Dancing with the Stars' Marie Osmond, the other is So You Think You Can Dance's Mary Murphy. Can you tell the difference?

Uncanny, no?

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SYTYCD -- LA and Chicago Auditions

Is it just me, or are they showing a lot more good dancers this year on So You Think You Can Dance than they show good singers in the initial audition rounds of American Idol? No complaints here -- I'd much rather get a glimpse of the dancers we will be falling in love with over the next few months than I would see a bunch of people humiliate themselves. I'm just sayin'.

Which is not to say I didn't chuckle at Colin Wheeler as he claimed he is still in communication with the late, great Anna Nicole Smith, even if he was most likely full of crap. He was convincing enough to bring a smile to my face!

But the evening was really about the talent, so out of respect to that, here are some dancers I think we'll be seeing much more of in the coming weeks:

-Lauren Gotlieb, who had assisted choreographer Tyce on last year's show, and apparently has given some lessons to Tobey Maguire. More interesting than her dancing (which was very good) was the revelation that Tobey loves SYTYCD. I knew Spidey and I had something more in common than just our shared ability to scale buildings.

-Jessi Peralta, who whipped out the baby oil for her routine. Baby oil always equals Vegas. Smart girl.

-Chuy Solorio, who got cut in Vegas last year. His dancing looked awesome to me, sort of in the vein of Season 1 winner Nick and Season 2 runner-up Travis, and anything that even remotely evokes either one of those boys is fine by me. He even had a compelling backstory about his wine making ambitions and his father's lack of support. Expect to see this kid around for awhile.

-Hok is back! With a work permit and all! Could this kid be any more charming? And that accent certainly doesn't hurt. It seems a little bit unfair that he is so well-known coming in to the competition, but his moves are so spectacular and original I really hope he makes it to the Top 20.

-Lacey Schwimmer, last year's champion Benji's younger sister. Having the returning champ be your partner -- talk about unfair! There was about, oh, 0% chance this girl wasn't going to make it to Vegas. While she has clearly got some dancin' skills, and she holds two national dancing titles ("one more than her brother"), she didn't blow me away like I hoped she would. Maybe it was the fact that she was being upstaged by Benji, or that she seemed a little too confident that she would make it through, but I just didn't fall head over heels. I have no doubt, however, we'll be seeing quite a bit more of her.

-Phillip Chbeeb, who did some of the most amazing pop-and-locking I (or Shane Sparks) has ever seen. Shane even had a tear in his eye! Who knows if this kid can do anything else besides wiggle his body around like that, but who cares? That was amazing!

-Janet Bombard, who has a prosthetic arm! I literally had no idea that was the case until Nigel brought it up, so I had to rewind and watch the performance again to see if it was glaringly obvious and I had just missed it. Nope, barely noticed it the second time around. I don't know if this girl will be able to hold up with all the partnering these kids have to do, but I am very impressed with what I've seen so far.

There were also a few dancers who I had mixed feelings about, but the judges seemed to enjoy:

-Oliva Usey, who signed up to audition because her mother had found a lump in her breast. I don't mean to be insensitive, but her mother was going in for her biopsy on the day of the audition, she wasn't exactly knocking on death's door quite yet. Now, for all I know, she could have received a scary diagnosis, and that would be terrible, but the whole thing smelled like a bit of a ploy to gain some sympathy. Hopefully Olivia's mother is fine, the biopsy came back clean, and I am right to think she was trying to manipulate the viewers. Either way, I thought Olivia was a fine dancer, but she was no Melody or Heidi or Donyelle. I'm just saying.

-Dia and Kurt, ballroom dancers who were winking and hiccuping all over the floor. I though they were a little much, and I wasn't really feeling these two, although I did feel for Kurt as the judges blatantly laughed in his face for a solid 90 seconds over his hiccuping. What, are the judges five years old? (It was kinda funny though, I gotta admit.)

-Brianne Healey, the young blonde who had "grown up" while dancing on a cruise ship. I bet she grew up! She was pretty, and a solid dancer, but, again, the level of talent on this show has been so high in the past, I'm not sure Brianne has what it takes to really make a dent in the competition. We'll see.

-Yesenia Gomez, who Shane Sparks called his "girl." I thought she was a solid dancer, but it pissed me off that Nigel called her "an inspiration," when he had earlier chastised the audience for patronizingly clapping for the overweight EJ as he pranced around the stage. It's okay for Nigel to be patronizing, but not for anyone else? Who is Yesenia an inspiration to, after all? Chubby girls, I would imagine Nigel was suggesting, but the truth is last season's full-figured Donyelle is much more of an inspiration to dancers who are not stick-thin than Yesenia is or will be. Sometime I hate Nigel.

I'm not even gonna talk about Gold Mask guy. Just not gonna do it.

So there it is, several very promising prospects, and, as always, a few duds. Next stop A-T-L!

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So You Think You Can Dance - New York Auditions

So You Think You Can Dance is back! Cat Deeley! Mary Murphy (eeeeeeeeeeee!) Nigel Lythgoe! Dan Karaty! Oh, it's gonna be a fun summer.

Having said that, I must admit I feel pretty much the same way about the initial auditions on So You Think You Can Dance as I do about the initial auditions on American Idol -- argh!!

Don't get me wrong, the "bad auditioners" can be ridiculously entertaining (yes, I laughed -- hard -- at the return of "Sex" and his misguided mother, although I wish Nigel had a bit more of a sense of humor about the whole thing), but I watch these shows for the talent, not for the humiliation factor, so these initial auditions are really just a diversion until we get into the real nitty gritty of the competition. Why don't I just give up on the audition episodes completely? Because sometimes you spot a gem that makes watching hours of delusional "artists" embarrass themselves worth it. I mean, heck, I can remember Jordin Sparks' first Idol audition vividly, and look what happened to her.

Thus, I watch these episodes in the hopes of getting a glimpse of some of the dancers I will be obsessing over for the next few months. And, indeed, there were a few stand-outs from the New York auditions:

-Stanislav's sister Faina -- much sexier than her brother. Much. I wonder if Stanislav was a little embarrassed after having been the first one cut last year.

-Ballroom dancers Pasha and Anya -- shoo-ins for the Top 20, especially her. Hot.

-Hip-hopper Jamal, who showed off his swing steps to the doubtful judges -- no doubt charismatic, but can he really pull off the choreography this show demands? And how come his swing dancing partner got cut? That don't seem right!

-Dance teacher and student Katie and Ashley (why do so many dancers have names like Katie and Ashley, I wonder?) -- these girls were both really good, even if they were, as my friend Krank likes to say, dressed a little on the slutty side (They are dancers, I tried to explain -- they need to let their bodies breathe!)

And while I was not blown away by the dancing of Hanna from Israel, that video footage of the collapsing dance floor was absolutely horrendous. Wow, first episode of the year and they are already bringing out the disaster footage? Intense.

Can't wait for this week, with more auditions in LA and Chicago!

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Looking Forward To So You Think You Can Dance

When one door closes, another one opens.

Yes, American Idol is coming to a close for the year, but we've got the debut of another equally addictive treat right around the corner -- So You Think You Can Dance!

I've gotta say, I absolutely love this show! Young, in-shape guys and gals doing amazing dances by world-class choreographers to great music? What more could you ask for? Throw in some very entertaining judges (that Mary Murphy is a hoot!) and you've got a little slice of reality show heaven.

Unlike American Idol, where it is possible someone with a god-given gift, or simply a likeable personality, could advance far in the competition, the folks on So You Think You Can Dance have been training and working their entire lives for an experience like this. There are not many venues for dancers to show what they can do, and the excitement the contestants feel at getting to share their gifts and hard work with the world is palpable.

And let's not forget, the show has produced two of the cutest, most talented reality show contestants ever -- first season winner Nick Lazzarini, and second season runner-up Travis Wall. Add in Season 1's Melody, Jamile, and Ashley, and Season 2's Benji, Allison, Ivan, Heidi, and Natalie, and there's eye-candy for everyone!

To get us in the mood for some dancing, below are some pictures (taken by my good friend Karen T) from the So You Think You Can Dance tour -- I was there with some pals in the 3rd row, and it was fierce! Be sure to keep checking Idol Thoughts this summer for So You Think You Can Dance recaps, predictions, best-of lists and more.